


One Pill Too Many

by 2Elenora2



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Anxiety, Jack OD's, Mentions of Suicide, Near Death Experience, Overdose, and kent finds him, lowkey sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 20:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8117200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2Elenora2/pseuds/2Elenora2
Summary: When Kent gets concerning texts from Jack Zimmermann, he is over there in a heartbeat, but he never expected to find his best friend, and the boy he loves on the floor of his bathroom with tiny pills scattered on the floor, alongside the pieces of his own heart.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello so thank you all for clicking on this fic. So, I wrote this before the newest updates were posted.   
> All characters belong to Ngozi. Find the comic here: (http://omgcheckplease.tumblr.com/)

All he could think about was that poor soul.

The one lying in that hospital bed, tubes down his throat and an IV in his hand to help his organs flush through the pills he swallowed hours earlier.

The one he had found who was impossibly cold and limp on the tiled floor.

The one he loved most in this world. And even though his heart was still beating, Kent was sure he had lost him.

24 Hours Earlier.

**-Jack- 9:30pm**  
 _Kenny? You there?_  
  
**-Jack- 9:38**  
 _I messed up. I'm sorry._   
  
Those were the two messages that Kent Parson found when he stepped out of the shower that night. Kent wasn't even completely dry when he was dressed, out of the house and down the street, heading for the Zimmermann's home. As he drove, he tried calling both Bob and Alicia, but neither of them were picking up their phones, and neither was Jack. By the time he was in their driveway, he had emergency services on their way. Kent abandoned the car, not even giving a second thought to his car which was probably still unlocked. 

"JACK?!" He called, knocking on the door. He kept knocking, and he could feel pain beginning to swell in his knuckles. When there was no answer, he began to jiggle the door handle in hopes that maybe it would fall off and the door would swing open. His attempts were futile. Kent, looking for any way to get into the house glanced at the nearby window, one that he knew was already weak from him and Jack breaking in and out of all through their earlier teen years. He popped the fly screen off and tossed it to the side without a thought to how it might look to passer-bys and then wiggled his fingers under the window and pushed it up. Kent climbed in with swiftly. "Jack?" 

Kent walked through the house, becoming unnerved by the eerie quite that chocked the house. He peered into Jacks room. Empty. The bathroom light was on and so Kent crept in, listening for Jack. As soon as he stepped in the bathroom his stomach dropped. Jack was on the floor, his cheek pressed against the tiles and his dark hair stark against his pale skin. As tall as Jack was, the only way Kent saw him now was impossibly small.   
Scattered around Jack was four or five white pills, the same ones he’d see Jack pull out and take with shaky hands, the same ones he’d tell Kent time and time again that they helped clear his head, the same ones he’d tell him not to worry about. 

Kent knew immediately what had happened. 

"Jack?" Kent asked, dropping to his knees and pressing a hand to his back. "Wake up, please."   
Needless to say, Jack didn't stir and fear welled in Kents stomach and sent every single one of his nerves on edge. He pressed two fingers to Jacks pulse, it was there, but it was faint. No, this was the worst part. Kent begged Jack to wake up, he told him help was on the way and tried his best to comfort him. Kent doubted Jack could hear him, but god, he hoped so. 

~*~

The ambulance came not long after Kent found him. They pushed him out of the way as the paramedics began surrounding Jack. As he was being dragged away, he saw one of the paramedics begin CPR. One of the paramedics asked Kent questions, and he told them all he could and he handed over the now empty pill bottle. 

~*~

When he managed to get a hold of Jacks parents, he was a mess. He could barely get his words out. Bob couldn't understand a word he said and all Alicia could manage to understand was "Jack" and "hospital". He was just about calm and able to tell them exactly what he knew when Jack was wheeled out of the house on a stretcher, paramedics surrounding him and one holding a breathing pump. Kent tried to follow after the paramedics, but was told he couldn't come in the ambulance and that Jack was in a critical state. 

~*~

Kent was glad to say that he wasn't familiar with hospitals. But now, sitting in the cold plastic chair, he could say that he was. Alicia was pacing the waiting room and Bob was trying to coax her into a chair with a coffee, but she just wouldn't sit.

"This is all our fault." She murmured as she fell into her husband’s arms. "If we had of watched him-"

"Alicia, we couldn't have known." Bob said, reassuring his wife. They were both murmuring to each other, talking about Jack and whatever else was crossing their mind. They seemed to have forgotten that Kent was there, curled up in the stiff hospital chair with the image of an unconscious Jack, unbelievably pale, surrounded by little white pills stamped into his brain. He was cold, and if Jack didn't wake up, if he wasn't okay, he'd never be warm again. 

It was only now, with Jack in that hospital bed, that Kent had come to realize that he loved that boy. That he loved him despite the fact that one day Jack might not be in his life, despite the fact that Kent was hurtling forward at 100 miles an hour and that Jacks had come to a standstill. 

Sleep threatened to take over Kent when a nurse stepped out and called upon Alicia and Bob. 

“We’re keeping him sedated, but you can see him.” The nurse informed them. Alicia broke down in tears and Bob wrapped an arm around her and ushered her towards Jacks room, steadily following the nurse, leaving Kent all alone in the hospital waiting room.   
The nurse never even said if Jack was okay. 

~*~

“Kent?” The light, tired and concerned voice of Bob Zimmermann woke Kent, and he sat up, blinking at Bob.

“Can I see him?” Kent asked, barely even awake. 

“Yes, of course.” Bob smiled warmly. “But you need to know this first. It all looks very scary. He’s connected to all these cords and monitors. But it’s all okay. The doctors say he should be okay.” 

Kent stayed quiet and nodded as Bob talked. He took in the words he said, but barely let them soak in before letting it all seep out again. All he could think about was Jack on the tiles in his bathroom and really, he’d like a different image imprinted. Bob stood up, and motioned for Kent to follow. 

The walk down the hallway was long, even though Jack was only a couple of rooms down, Kent felt like he was walking miles and miles. His mind was so lost in thought that he almost walked into Bob. 

“I’m going to get some coffee. Alicia is in there.” Bob smiled and patted Kent on the shoulder before turning and walking away.   
Kent opened the door, and it took his eyes a moment to find Jack. Bobs kind words had not prepared him for what he saw, and Bobs words had failed to mention the way the room smelt, too sterile, too clean. How cold the room was. The cold, prickling feeling that spread across Kents body when he saw Jack in that bed, unconscious, unmoving and as pale as the bed sheets were. 

“Kent, honey.” Alicia’s voice was warm and soft, but cracking slightly as if she had been sobbing all night. She indicated to the seat on the other side of Jack. “Sit.”

Kent nodded stiffly and walked across the room. As he drew nearer to Jack, more and more became apparent. There were dark circles under his eyes and his lips were cracked. This boy, the one who had stolen his heart, looked so small and so vulnerable in that bed. But for weeks, he had been so fragile, so different from his usual self and Kent, he was able to help to some extent but he couldn’t stop Jack from drowning.   
He took a seat and looked up at Alicia who looked worse off than Jack. 

“How is he?” Kent asked. 

“He should be okay. That’s what the doctors say. There’s no real way to know until he wakes up.” Alicia said, and she must’ve seen something cross Kents’ face because she added: “He’ll be okay. He’s strong.” 

~*~

Jack woke up hours later, his eyes were hazy and he was unsure of how he got where he was. As soon as he even opened his eyes, Bob and Alicia were by his side, reassuring him, letting him know he was okay and what happened. He nodded solemnly, his eyes now filled with tears as the weight of what had happened finally come down on his chest. Kent looked at him, smiling sadly, but still happy that Jack had woken up, without any apparent side effects. 

Jack blinked twice at Kent and then he turned his head to his mother. 

“Can I speak to Kent, alone please?” He asked. Alicia and Bob smiled at Jack before standing up and leaving. They both lingered at the door for a moment, unsure whether or not to leave the boys alone, they were both so shaken from what had happened.

“I'm so sorry, Kenny.” Jack whispered, bringing his hands up to his face, covering it, mostly so he couldn’t see Kent. 

“No.” Kent shook his head. “Don’t be.” 

“I am. And to whoever found me. Did Maman find me? Crisse¸ what have I done?”

“Jack, it’s fine. None of us blame you.” Kent reassured him. He placed a hand on Jacks shoulder and Jack removed his hands from his face and looked at Kent, his face scrunched up. 

“Kenny, who found me?” He asked again. Kent shook his head and smiled, but Jack pressed the subject, running through names and people, never once saying Kents name or even alluding to Kent. “Please, tell me.”

“Me.” Kent muttered. “I found you.”

Jack sucked in his breath, he wasn’t prepared to hear that Kent had found him. He wasn’t prepared to face the fact that Kent probably thought he was dead, that Kent had found him collapsed on the floor. 

“Kent…”

“Don’t, Jack.” Kent shook his head. He didn’t want to relive the memory. He’d do anything to lose that memory. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You don’t want to talk about it?” Jack scoffed. 

“Yeah, Jack. I don’t want to talk about finding you on the ground, sprawled on the tiles and those stupid fucking pills everywhere. Well, what ones you didn’t take.” Kent spat. The way he spoke, it was almost vicious. Kent had come to realise that it was no longer sadness that weighed on his shoulders, but anger.   
There was one thought burning on his mind, something that gripped to every nerve in his body, a thought that wanted to escape. 

“I'm sorry.” Jack whispered. 

“Don’t be sorry.” Kent muttered, shaking his head. “Just answer me one thing: Did you try and kill yourself?”

 


End file.
